Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections ­Overland­Boat­Transportation­During­the­Pharaonic­Period: Archaeology­and­­Iconography Pearce­Paul­Creasman Laboratory­of­­Tree-­Ring­­Research,­University­of­­Arizona Noreen­­Doyle Institute­of­Maritime­Research­and­­Discovery Abstract Pharaonic Egyptian needs for waterborne transport surpassed the convenience of geography. Several obstacles— chiefly the lack of a water pas - sage from the Nile Valley to the Red Sea and the unnavigable waters of the Second Cataract— had to be overcome. The Egyptians achieved this by techniques of hull construction, by architectural means, and by the employment of vehicles. Vehicles also functioned for the ceremonial transport of boats and boat- shaped shrines. This paper is a survey of the methods of overland boat transportation during the pharaonic period, with an emphasis on the archaeological and iconographic evidence. or­the­ancient­Egyptians,­the­material­world­of­everyday was­the­focus­of­the­Red­Sea­trade,­and­from­there­came­valuable life­encompassed­three­major­bodies­of­water:­the­Nile,­the exotic­commodities,­including­frankincense­and­ebony. 6 e­Red FMediterranean,­and­the­Red­Sea.­While­the­Nile­provided Sea­was,­for­the­Egyptians,­­“land-­locked”­in­pharaonic­times, pharaonic­Egypt­with­its­“superhighway,”­greatly­facilitating­the accessible­from­the­Nile­Valley­only­through­the­wadis­of­the north-­and­southbound­transportation­of­cargo­and­passengers, 1 Eastern­Desert. 7 Absence­of­sufficient­resources­to­support­an it­also­presented­obstacles­in­the­form­of­cataracts­beyond­the independent­coastal­boatbuilding­industry­made­naval­opera - Nubian­border.­Furthermore,­until­the­creation­of­a­canal­dur - tions­there­dependent­upon­the­importation­of­watercra,­either ing­the­Late­Period, 2 it­provided­no­east/west­corridor­to­the as­timber,­as­boat­parts,­or­as­more­or­less­constructed­­watercra. Red­Sea,­which­was­the­marine­route­not­only­to­the­nearby Although­the­Red­Sea­trade­could­date­from­as­early­as­the Sinai­Peninsula­(with­its­valuable­turquoise,­malachite,­and­cop - Naqada­II­period, 8 the­earliest­textual­evidence­suggesting­the per­ores)­but­also­to­the­Arabian­and­east­African­coasts. 3 What transport­of­boats­or­boat­timbers­through­the­Eastern­Desert accident­of­geography­omitted,­the­Egyptians­themselves­engi - dates­to­the­reign­of­Pepy­II.­Pepynakht­called­Heqaib­records­an neered­to­provide:­where­water­could­not­be­brought­to­boats, expedition­undertaken­during­this­reign­into­the­“country­of­the boats­were­brought­overland­to­water.­e­terrestrial­geography aAmw .” 9 Although­the­inscription­does­not­specify­the­location­of of­Egypt­had­thus­a­profound­effect­on­its­nautical­­technology. 4 the­expedition, 10 the­ aAmw are­generally­taken­to­be­the­predeces - e­archaeological­record,­including­texts,­iconography,­arti - sors­of­Eastern­Desert­Bedouin. 11­ Pepy­II­charged­Pepynakht facts,­and­site­features,­provides­a­variety­of­information­on­which with­fetching­back­the­corpse­of­an­officer­named­Anankhet, to­base­interpretations­of­the­general­nature­and­importance­of whom­the­ aAmw had­slain.­Anankhet­and­his­soldiers,­who­were overland­boat­transportation­during­the­pharaonic­period. also­killed­in­the­attack,­were­in­the­region­to­construct­( spt ,­liter - However,­just­as­with­the­transportation­of­stone, 5 Egyptian ally­“bind”) 12 a­“Byblos”­boat­( kbnt )­for­a­journey­to­Punt. administrative­records­and­monumental­inscriptions­omit­most ough­it­was­formerly­suggested­that­Byblos­boats­were­neces - logistical­details­regarding­the­conveyance­of­watercra­over­­land. sarily­built­on­the­Syrian­coast­by­Syrian­shipwrights, 13 it­is­now generally­accepted­that­the­term­derives­from­the­seagoing­run Eastern Desert Portage on­which­such­boats­were­first­­employed. 14 While­it­has­been­conjectured­that­fully­constructed­water - Although­also­reachable­by­the­Nile­and­overland­routes,­the cra­could­have­been­transported­through­the­desert, 15 the­evi - land­of­Punt­(identified­with­the­region­now­occupied­by­Eritrea, dence­(linguistic­and­otherwise)­better­supports­the­more­usual northern­Ethiopia,­and­eastern­Sudan,­as­well­as­southern­Arabia) contention­that­expeditions­brought­timbers­and­that­assembly Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections | http://jaei.library.arizona.edu | Vol. 2:3, 2010 | 14–30 14 P. P. Creasman and N. Doyle | Overland Boat Transportation Figure . Unpegged mortise- and- tenon joint. took­place­on­the­shore. 16 A­general­description­of­such­an­expedi - tion,­led­by­the­“Keeper­of­the­Door­of­the­South,”­Henu,­dates to­the­reign­of­Mentuhotep­III. 17 In­setting­off­on­his­journey­to Punt,­Henu­“went­forth­from­Koptos­upon­the­road”­(i.e.,­the Wadi­Hammamat)­with­an­army­of­three­thousand­men­(this was­perhaps­an­ideal,­if­not­standard,­complement;­an­inscription at­Ayn­Soukhna­also­mentions­three­thousand­men 18 ).­Donkeys accompanied­them,­but­their­only­listed­burdens­are­sandals. Once­on­the­coast,­Henu­“made­this­ship”­( iri Haww pn ).­On­the return­through­the­wadi,­aer­the­naval­expedition­had­secured Figure . Transportation of a colossal statue by means of a sledge; the­“gis”­and­completed­the­round­trip,­Henu­and­his­men porters carry a timber in hand, after Newberry and Fraser, El picked­up­blocks­of­stone­hewn­from­the­­hills. Bersheh Part 1, The Tomb of Tehuti- hetep (1895), pl. xv. e­large­number­of­men­and­the­variety­of­their­tasks­(secu - rity,­transportation,­boatbuilding,­sailing,­­well-­digging,­and­quar - rying)­indicate­the­logistical­complexity­of­the­expedition. Unfortunately,­as­this­is­a­commemorative­inscription­and­not an­administrative­document,­Henu­omits­details­critical­to understanding­the­organization­and­execution­of­the­expedition. e­text­indicates­specifics­of­neither­boat­transport­nor­boat construction,­and­there­is­no­corresponding­iconography­from Figure . Log or timber carried to a boatyard slung from a carrying any­period­related­to­overland­transport­toward—­or­boat­assem - pole, after Davies, Crum, and Boulenger, The Rock Tombs of Deir el bly­on—­the­Red­Sea­­coast. 19 Gebrâwi I (1902), pl. XXIV. However,­two­coastal­sites,­Mersa­Gawasis/Wadi­Gawasis and­Ayn­Soukhna,­provide­direct­archaeological­evidence. e­pharaonic­site­at­Ayn­Soukhna,­which­includes­at­least Scholars­have­known­of­the­pharaonic­site­at­Mersa nine­galleries­dug­into­the­base­of­a­mountain­overlooking­the­sea, Gawasis/Wadi­Gawasis­for­at­least­fiy­years 20 but­did­not­fully presents­similar­evidence. 24 No­fewer­than­three­galleries­date­to understand­its­significance­until­the­last­decade,­when­it­became the­Old­Kingdom, 25 and­others­are­of­tentative­Middle­Kingdom the­focus­of­revived­attention­that­remains­ongoing. 21 e­site­is date.­Numerous­cedar­ship­planks­(and­at­least­two­oak­planks) located­at­the­eastern­end­of­the­Wadi­Gawasis,­north­of­the with­characteristically­Nilotic­unpegged­­mortise-­and-­tenons Wadi­Hammamat.­At­least­seven­chambers­hewn­from­the­lime - (Figure­1)­yield­carbon­dates­of­approximately­2000 bce .26 stone­terrace­served­as­warehouses. 22 Evidence­of­occupation e­sites­have­not­yet­yielded­the­precise­means­by­which­tim - has­been­confirmed­for­the­Old­and­Middle­Kingdoms,­when bers­initially­arrived.­None­of­the­inscriptions­indicate­any­means the­site­likely­served­as­a­seasonal­harbor­for­expeditions,­espe - of­conveyance,­although­working­scenes­attest­to­timbers­carried cially­to­Punt.­Here­too­are­found­disarticulated­ship­timbers in­hand­(Figure­2) 27 and­slung­from­carrying­poles­(Figure 3). 28 and­a­host­of­other­­ship-­related­components­displaying­the­char - Definitive­traces­of­construction­on­the­shore­are­also­lacking, acteristics­of­the­Nilotic­boatbuilding­tradition:­unpegged and­indeed,­as­Ward­and­Zazzaro­point­out,­“it­is­hard­to­imagine ­mortise-­and-­tenon­joinery,­dovetails,­and­lashing­­channels. 23 what­might­indicate­­ship-­assembly­rather­than­disassembly”­at­a Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections | http://jaei.library.arizona.edu | Vol. 2:3, 2010 | 14–30 15 P. P. Creasman and N. Doyle | Overland Boat Transportation Figure . Funerary procession, after Naville, Das Ägyptische Totenbuch der XVIII. bis XX. Dynastie I (1971), Taf. III.D.a. site­such­as­Wadi­Gawasis. 29 At­both­this­site­and­Ayn­Soukhna, of­a­pegged­hull­would­have­required­breaking­timbers,­or­at­least stored­timbers­represent­the­end­(or­at­least­intended­middle) drilling­or­hammering­out­hundreds­of­pegs­per­vessel,­appears­not stage­in­the­existence­of­the­seagoing­ships­from­which­they­came. to­have­suited­the­pharaonic­Egyptian­shipwrights’­purpose. At­Wadi­Gawasis,­damaged­timbers­were­marked­before­disassem - Although­it­would­have­resulted­in­improved­seaworthiness,­peg - bly­of­the­vessel,­and­workers­removed­barnacles­and­other ging­would­have­limited­the­reuse­of­timbers­and­would­have­made marine­incrustations­before­storing­timbers­in­the­caves—­all­indi - the­regular­disassembly­of­hulls­an­excruciating­and­impractical cations­of­intent­to­reuse. 30 Like­the­disassembled­Khufu­I­boat task.­e­concession­seems­clear:­more­time­invested­in­construc - interred­at­Giza,­the­Ayn­Soukhna­timbers­were­stacked­in­an tion­(and­perhaps­maintenance)­of­lashed­and­unpegged­hulls­was organized­manner,­ready­for­future­­application. 31 exchanged­for­savings­when­the­vessels­were­in­use.­e­returns­on Ship-­breaking­with­the­aim­of­preserving­the­utility­of­at the­initial­construction­investment­would­have­compounded­each least­some­timbers­was­made­practical­by­the­prevalent­form­of